The United States Department of the Treasury has sanctioned former MP Aqif Rakipi and media owner Ylli Ndroqi for threatening “the stability of the region through corruption, criminal activity, and other destabilizing behavior.” Rakipi was an MP from Elbasan for the Party for Justice, Integration and Unity (PDIU). He lost his mandate in 2018 for
The US Ambassador to Tirana met on Monday with Enkelejd Alibeaj, the head of the parliamentary group of the Democratic Party (PD), Albania’s main opposition party. In a tweet following the meeting in the offices of The Albanian parliament, she referred to Alibeaj as “acting chair” of the PD, attracting criticism from other MPs and
Leadership clashes continue among members of the Democratic Party, even after former chairman Lulzim Basha resigned from his post almost two weeks ago. Former Prime Minister Sali Berisha and acting PD chairman Enkelejd Alibeaj have been at the center of the latest disagreement over Berisha’s position within the PD. During an early Thursday meeting of
For a long time now, there has been a dichotomy between methodology and the political aspects of the EU integration, which is put to the test now with the calls for fast-track EU membership of Ukraine and the tortoise pace of accession of the Western Balkans. The invasion of Ukraine has been a rude awakening,
Former Prime Minister Sali Berisha announced his intentions to return to the helm of the Democratic Party (PD) as its leader. On Friday, Berisha and his Refoundation Group visited the PD’s Headquarters to speak with formal members of the party following Lulzim Basha’s resignation as chairman. But Basha stepping aside has not led to a
The former British Ambassador to Albania, Duncan Norman has warned of sanctions against corrupt Albanian officials in a statement given to local media. Norman who held the post of ambassador until 2021 and now heads up a special project fighting corruption and organised crime, said the aim is to sever the link between crime and
A Tirana Court has ruled that the National Assembly of the Democratic Party called by former Prime Minister Sali Berisha on December 11, 2021 was legitimate. In a final blow to outgoing chairman Lulzim Basha, the Court’s decision ratifies all the amendments to the party statutes voted during the Assembly, including the decision to dismiss
The formal Democratic Party will not elect a new leader before local elections in the summer of 2023, according to a statement backed by an undisclosed number of PD members of parliament. On Monday, the leader of the formal PD, Lulzim Basha resigned after blaming former PD leader Sali Berisha and Prime Minister Edi Rama
Lulzim Basha, the formal leader of the opposition Democratic Party resigned on Monday. He announced his decision during a meeting with the party leadership. “Today I don’t want to talk about what has happened and how events have developed, who was right and who was wrong – I am sure time will tell all this,”
28 years ago, on December 5, 1994, I participated as a member of the Albanian delegation in the summit of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) that took place in Budapest. This summit is remembered for the decision to transform the Conference into an organization with permanent institutions, today known as the